The Wizard and the Thief Read online

  There was a tiny scar on the man's throat -- a line from a blade, he imagined -- and the hint of one of the clan markings underneath the tight, dark clothing the man wore. Corm wanted the man's name, damn it. As a start.

  He shook the thief's shoulder, then shifted to lean in close. "Tell me your name," he whispered.

  It took only the barest touch, a tease of sensual pleasure and desire, and those full lips moved. "Plum."

  "There, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

  Plum.

  It suited the man.

  He grinned, and stroked one cheek. By the lady there was something powerful between them. Plum nuzzled into his touch, then frowned, the act marring the smooth forehead.

  "Frown all you like, Plum, but you're in my house now, and I'm not going to let you go easily." He murmured softly, an incantation that would keep Plum within the walls of the mansion.

  Lovely eyes -- pale as the sky before a storm -- flashed open, staring up at him.

  "Evening, Plum."

  The delicately arched eyebrows lifted, Plum's lips going tight.

  "Yes, I know your name now. Quite colorful." He touched Plum's cheek again, biting his tongue to keep from gasping at the heat that flared immediately between them. It was pure energy, building higher and faster than any he'd ever experienced.

  He turned his gentle touches into a caress, cupping Plum's cheek, tilting his face.

  "I..." Plum groaned, pulling away from him, throat working. "What magick is this?"

  He shook his head. "Not of my doing." He placed his hand on Plum's shoulder, the touch just as potent through cloth.

  "You lie." Plum's body arched, hips rolling up.

  "I do not."

  Plum moved like a cat, graceful, lovely. Groaning, he bent and pressed his lips against Plum’s.

  Plum moaned, lips parting a moment before the man pulled away. "Let me go."

  He shook his head. "I wasn't inclined to do that before, I certainly won't be doing it now." He pressed their lips together again, intent on nothing more than feeling that fire flare between them again.

  He had never felt such a burn, such a fierce connection, and it drew him, fascinated him like nothing else had in years. He slid his hand over Plum's face again, searching for magicks as he slid his tongue into Plum's mouth, but there were no magicks here but his own, no magicks but the one that flowed between them.

  Plum's tongue pushed into his lips, forceful and suddenly hungry, demanding. Moaning, he opened, let the man in, his own hunger fed by Plum's.

  Plum rolled him, pushing him down into the mattress, lean body draped over him. He allowed it, sliding his hands down to grab Plum's ass. It was round and sweet, felt good in his palm. Plum rocked up toward his touch, eyes flashing open, staring into him.

  "What?" he asked, squeezing Plum's ass. His other hand slid behind Plum's head, pulling him back in.

  "I don't..." Yes. Yes, it quite appeared that Plum did.

  He pushed his tongue back into Plum's mouth, that fire right there between them. Plum wrapped his lips around Corm's tongue, sucking hard, sensations zinging between them. His hips pushed up over and over, rubbing against Plum, almost shaking from the intensity of it.

  "What are you doing to me?" The words were a low growl, Plum's hand hot where it cupped his cock.

  "The same thing you're doing to me!" This passion had not been fashioned by spells and magick, it was a power of its own.

  "I'm not. I can't. My spells are..." Plum groaned, teeth sharp on his jaw, his throat.

  He jerked, head going back to make sure Plum had room. To mark him. He'd never... Groaning, he pressed hard on Plum's ass, bringing their bodies even closer together.

  Plum bit deep, groaning and beginning to hump down against him, motions desperate and hungry. He met Plum's movements, feeling the fire build and build. He had not come in his clothes since he was an eager youth, but he was about to do so now.

  He could feel Plum's climax in the energies ringing around him, around them. He gave himself over to it, letting the pleasure take over. Crying out, he came, shuddering beneath Plum's body.

  Plum rested against him a bit, heart pounding against him. He could feel the man's muscles shifting, tensing, readying to run. He felt a growl building up inside him. He didn't want Plum to run. He wanted the man to stay right here and for them to see what this was between them, to see if it persisted. How dare Plum not want the same thing?

  Plum's lips brushed his throat, that flash of energy coming again. It had him gasping, his hands reaching to circle Plum again. He held on.

  "I have to go." The words were whispered on his skin.

  "No, you don't."

  Plum didn't have to go at all.

  Corm held on tighter and then let his hands slide away. Plum couldn't leave the house anyway.

  "You're something special..." His collarbone got another soft kiss, a soft sleep spell wafting over him.

  He shook his head, even as his eyes closed. "Then you have to stay."

  "I cannot." Was that sorrow?

  "Can't leave," Corm insisted. The room felt as if it were spinning, the sleeping spell trying to get through his defenses. "Choose to stay or you are my prisoner."

  "I'm no one's prisoner, sweet light."

  "If you choose to stay you are not." He whispered a few words, shaking off the effects of the spell, and blinked up at Plum. "And you may call me Corm."

  "Corm..."

  "I want to hear you say it in passion."

  "I. Why won't you sleep?"

  He rolled Plum, putting the man beneath him, his fingers working at the ties on Plum's blouse. "Because here I am stronger than you."

  Plum’s skin was milk-pale, the dark inked marks of the Delacroix clan painted into the flesh. He gasped, tracing the mark. "You wear the mark of my family!"

  "Nonsense." The shirt was tugged closed, Plum whirling from the bed, that voluminous cloak surrounding the lean form.

  "I know what I saw." He followed Plum, grabbing the man's arm.

  "You imagine things." The slender arm slid from his grasp, Plum heading for the door.

  He hadn't been though; he knew his own clan markings well enough. He followed Plum, knowing the man couldn't leave the house. Plum moved faster than he could follow, the black-robed man seeming to disappear into the shadows. He was amazed at how quickly the man could move in his house, and it made him wonder how often Plum had been here in advance of his attempt to take the stone.

  He knew Plum couldn't leave, not with his magick trapping Plum within his walls, but it still galled him that the man had disappeared so effortlessly. He increased the scope of his search, using his magick to detect movement.

  Ah. The secret passage ways. How had Plum found them?

  He slipped into the maze of corridors built into the walls and headed after Plum. Finally he could see a pinprick of light ahead and he hurried. "You cannot escape me, Plum."

  He thought he heard the surprised intake of air; he knew he could feel Plum moving away. He rolled his eyes. Whoever it was who had said it was the chase that was half the fun had obviously never chased anyone through cold, dark, damp secret passages. "We could be in my warm bed right now."

  Plum's chuckle teased him. "I cannot stay, sweet jailer."

  "Why not? What is waiting for you out there? More thieving?" He was close now, and he slowed, giving up speed for silence.

  "It is my work..." Plum was close enough to smell.

  He let his hearing and his sense of smell guide him, taking three more steps and reaching out to grab Plum's arm. "Take a holiday."

  Plum gasped, the lightning of energy flaring between them.

  "Take a long holiday," he amended, pressing Plum up against the stone wall, mouth finding Plum's in the darkness, drawn unerringly to it.

  He hadn't known to search for this, to want this that flared between them, but he'd not give it up willingly now. He plundered the mouth beneath his, pressing his body up along Plum's. The thief wa
s slender, but solid enough, real and warm, a hardness that matched his own. The kiss grew hard-edged, Plum's fingers digging into his arms, whether to pull him closer or push him away, Corm wasn't sure. He pressed his thigh between Plum's legs, tongue pushing deeper, fucking Plum's mouth.

  "Let me go." Plum jerked his head away, pale eyes gleaming at him.

  "Why are you insisting on denying this... thing between us?"

  "Why wouldn't I? We are, if you'll think on it, very recently met."

  Think on it? He knew Plum could feel the same heat as he. "I'm not thinking, Plum. Why are you?"

  "You’re a wizard. You're supposed to think."

  "I can think tomorrow." After he'd had Plum's ass, after he'd let this fire between them burn him up.

  Long fingers wrapped around his wrists, drew them up. "I must go. I must."

  He rubbed their bodies together, tugging at Plum's fingers, testing the hold. "I won't let you."

  A fine cord bound him; Plum's hands quicker than he could see. "You will." A shiver of excitement went through him, his cock throbbing.

  He brought their mouths back together, taking a kiss, making no attempt to get out of the ropes that bound him. He could sense Plum's confusion, the frustration, the need. Deepening the kiss, he continued to rub against Plum, the ropes keeping him from touching like he wanted.

  Plum's lips parted, tongue fighting his, pushing deep and spreading his lips. He wrapped his lips around Plum's tongue, sucking on it, refusing to completely give up control. Plum groaned, hands moving to cradle his head, the kiss going deep and wild.

  Yes. Yes, just like that.

  Groaning, he leaned into Plum, used the excuse of his hands bound above his head throwing off his balance to press Plum into the wall. He wasn't the only one who felt it. Plum's shaft was hard, burning against his belly, and he arched, rubbing furiously. Corm pressed harder, meeting the passion head on, reveling in it.

  He'd never imagined this fire, these flames that poured between them. More intense than the magick, Corm simply reveled in the sensations. He looped his bound hands over Plum's head, and just let go, let the burning kisses and eager rubbing take over. Higher and higher they went together, and his body shook.

  Plum dropped suddenly, hands dragging his trousers down, lips dropping over his shaft. The suction was sudden and intense, the heat unbelievable.

  "Plum!" It was the first word spoken between them since Plum had bound his hands, and it echoed through the passageway, wrapping around them.

  His hips jerked, pushing his prick deeper into Plum's mouth as another sound was torn from his throat. He'd never felt such heat, such eager need around his cock. Plum's lips tightened around his prick, tugging as that head bobbed.

  He whispered softly, a soft light letting him see more, letting him see Plum's swollen lips as they moved on him. The sight sent him over, and with a low moan, he came. Plum swallowed him down, throat working around the tip of his prick. It drew the pleasure out an impossibly long time, had him whimpering softly.

  He touched Plum's head, stroking the man's hair awkwardly. The softest kiss brushed the tip of his cock, the golden hair pouring around him.

  "Plum..." he seemed to be stuck repeating the thief's name, all his sense stolen.

  "Go to bed, wizard. Let me go. Thieves aren't good pets." Plum's eyes were sad, warm.

  His own heart sank at the words. This wasn't one-sided, it couldn't be. "You would try to deny what's between us?" Perhaps Plum still believed himself magicked.

  "No. I deny nothing." He got a crooked grin, the look honest and charming.

  He laughed, utterly hooked. If he didn't know better he'd believe that it was Plum who had magicked him, but he'd done tests, he knew it was not so.

  "Then you must stay." Spending time with Plum would be so much more interesting than going to the parties and dinners and lunches he found himself at. All the vapid nobles wanted to talk about was petty magick and sparkly baubles.

  "I'm a thief."

  "I caught you trying to lift my lodestone -- I'm still not sure why you thought you would be successful at that -- so I am quite aware of your profession, Plum." He smiled down at the man. "I can just imagine the look on the Duchess' face were I to bring you to her soiree on the weekend." She'd have a solid fit. It would be most amusing.

  "You were supposed to fall asleep. You like the soup."

  Corm chuckled, tickled -- he would have been asleep, if he hadn't missed dinner. Again. "I was a little pre-occupied and didn't eat dinner," he admitted.

  "Pre-occupied with what?" Curious little bird.

  "A spell." He'd been working on several in fact. Two for the Duchess' soiree -- silly things to amuse her guest, one had nonetheless taxed him. And he’d been waiting...

  "Ah. Wizards." Plum winked, the winds blowing suddenly.

  He shivered, and murmured a quiet spell, the bindings around his wrists falling away and letting him tuck his prick back into his trousers. He tugged Plum up, bringing their bodies back into contact. "Come back to my room, Plum. Spend a day or two with me and then tell me you still want to leave."

  "I." Plum groaned, shaft hard and full against his thigh. "One night."

  "It's a start." He slid his hand along Plum's shaft, stroking it through the leggings Plum wore before pushing his hand into them to grasp the hard shaft skin on skin.

  "A..." Plum's eyes flashed open, lips parting.

  He brought their mouths together, tongue slipping between Plum's lips, tasting himself there, the flavor of Plum there beneath the salty bitterness of his seed.

  Plum groaned, pulled away with a wicked grin. "Catch me and you can have me."

  "But I already caught you once," he complained. His heartbeat had picked up though, excitement rolling lightly through him at the thought of a chase.

  "But you didn't take me." Plum licked his lips and then seemed to disappear, fade into the shadows.

  Corm laughed, the adrenaline rushing through his body.

  The chase was on.

  Chapter Two

  Magicked.

  He simply had to be. Plum was aching, burning deep down, the flavor of the wizard's seed still on his tongue.

  He zipped through the secret passages, moving as quickly as he could with a heavy, throbbing cock, a need that seemed to beat inside him. He could hear Corm behind him, sometimes from far away, sometimes sounding as if the wizard were right behind him, but so far he'd managed to keep from being caught.

  The temptation to stop, to turn and grab the wizard was strong, but he resisted, forcing himself to evade, to run.

  The darkness of the passageway slowly gave way to a dim light, and the damp stone seemed suddenly warmer. The kitchens he guessed, coming upon them suddenly, the passageway opening up into a small pantry next to the hearth. It was here that he was caught, the wizard's arms coming around him and stilling his forward momentum.

  He gasped, surprised and aroused and caught.

  Caught.

  He had underestimated Corm.

  "I've caught you, thief." Corm's mouth landed on his neck above the collar of his coat, sucking up a mark as the wizard's hands slid over his belly toward his prick.

  "Yes." His hips canted, body eager and wanton. "Take me."

  "I will," murmured Corm, pushing him over a burlap sack full of grain.

  He could feel Corm's need rubbing over his ass as Corm's fingers worked open his leggings. He groaned, thighs tight and aching, hips jerking. "Give me that urn on the shelf by your head. It should be oil." His cloak was pushed up, his leggings pushed down.

  "Yes." Plum reached, fingers retrieving the pot easily. By the light of Astra's eyes, he hoped it wouldn't make him smell like a butcher's. Corm grabbed the pot from him and when it was opened it smelled lightly of rosemary and basil. He didn't have very long to contemplate that, before two of Corm's fingers pushed into him, slick and hot. Everything within him went tight, his spine arching. "Wizard!"

  "The name is Corm. I think y
ou could use it, considering where my fingers are." The fingers in question wiggled, pushed against his gland, just nudging it.

  "C...corm. Corm. There. Corm." That burn flooded him like the waves crashing on the beach of sorrow.

  "I like the way that sounds." Corm pushed his fingers in deeper, again and again, hitting his gland.

  Deep, needy cries escaped him, pouring out of him in low sobs. "I can't... I need."

  Corm's fingers disappeared, blunt, hard heat pressing against his hole. "I need." And with that Corm pushed in, spreading him wide.